St. Landry democrat., 1887-10-01
LIFE IN BULGARIA.
THE FOUNTAINS THE YOUNG PEO-
PLIES COURTING PLACE.
How They Dress and the Manner of Be
trothal-Greek in Religion and Their
Well-paid Priests Wealth Counted by
Kitchen Utensils-A Common Purse.
tCOpyTighted, 1887. ]


In Bulgaria the young girls 60 at sun
set to the fountains to draw the water
which they carry home for their few cul-
mary needs, and a prettier sight can
rarely be found than to see them in their
bare feet with their brown homespun
dresses and white aprons gay with the
bright colors embroidered upon them,
and with the pretty open bodice with its
neat white chemise drawn modestly
about the neck with the colored beads
about the throat and plated in their
thick dark hair, which is partly hidden
Ivy the white or colored 'kerchief they
year upon their heads, their pretty sun
burnt faces and their 1.-THE forms. They
dress for this at evenings as other girls
would to 90 toa ball. and then they trip
along to the fountains.
At these places all the young girls of
each village gather, and the young men
likewise, and here the courting is
done, honestly, openly and modestly, and
while the young girl stands with the
water from her overtlowing pitcher trick
ling over her feet and listens to the
the right young man is the one who tells
his story, the girl consents to his giving
her the kiss of betrothal, which he does
before ali the rest, and then the couple
walk homeward in the gathering twi-
light, and he must ask the consent of the
girls parents. They rarely refuse, as
they all know each other, and they soon
settle the matter by sending for the viii
lage priest, who performs the ceremony
of betrothal, which is considered as bind
ing as marriage.
Almost all Bulgarians are Greek in
religion and they submit to numberless
extortons from the priests, for they
must be brought upon every occasion to
bless the betrothals, marriages, births Of
children and all domestic animals, and
the first ripened grains and fruits, the
first plowings and the first reapings, to
say nothing of their services at christen-
ings, weddings, in sickness and funerals.
When the young couple are betrothed
the wedding is seldom delayed long, as it
is understood that the groom has man
aged to get money enough together to
pay for the wedding expenses. AS to a
home, the young couple seldom have one
for many years, as it is always arranged
that they live with either the brides or
grooms parents. Whichever family
needs the two young, strong pair of
arms most is permitted to have them.
They are welcome in either family, for
both know they must toll always. Girls
in Bulgaria do not marry for home or
life of ease
In Bulgarian family there is unity
and accord that would be worthy of i'm
itation in ,-any another place. The
earnings go into a common purse, which
is held by the oldest woman of the house
hold. Their wants are few. The wo-
men spin and weave and make and en-
broider their own garment of whatever
kind. Their beds are simply platforms
built against the walls, with wool mat
tresses, pillows and covering. They
have no sheets or w-cases-never
heard of them probably. They have no
chairs, no tables, no curtains or carpets,
no stoves, nor any other needless furni-
ture. They have fireplace fol
their little cookings and a clay
oven for their bread. They sit upon
sheepskins and eat their food out of
wooden trays which hold all they have.
Each person has cup, horn spoon and
wooden or in some cases a pewter
plate Their food consists of sheep and
goats milk, cheese, black rye bread, len
tils, onions, which they eat raw with
their bread and cheese, boiled wheat, with
meat rarely oftener than once year. Alb
stemious in the use of liquor, accustomed
to the simplest fare and economical in
every other way, it seems strange that
these industrious people are so bitterly
poor, or it would were it not we'll known
that for generations the Turks have drawn
from them four -ifths of all they earned,
and their own priests absorb nearly all
the rest.
The wealth of family in Bulgaria is
counted by the number of copper kitchen
utensils they possess-pots and kettles
mostly-and they hold solemn meetings
of the family over each new purchase.
The wooden bedding is the next valuable.
The houses are mere huts of unbaked
mud and straw thatched or tiled on the
roof. The floors are nearly always of
the ground only. When Bulgarian wife
becomes mother of girl there is little
rejoicing; rather more if she has boy.
AS soon as girl is born the mother be-
gins her labor of love in gathering all
the bits of wool she finds on hedges in
the yards or can get anywhere, and this
is laid carefully by for her daughters
wedding gown. When she has enough
she spins it with care and finally weaves
it so well that it makes almost
everlasting material. Brown, black
and white and blue are the only
colors used in the body of the material,
though many bright colors are worked
on band which ornaments the bottom
of the dress. The girls wear more Or
dinary gowns until they are old enough
to marry, and this wedding dress is made
up at an age when the parents think her
old enough to begin to look about her
These dresses are made to be as strong
aL ] lasting as the patient mother love
that has for so many years been gather
ing the material. A cloak made of sheep
skin with the woolly side in, and worked